


4. Locked Out

by INeverHadMyInternetPhase



Series: Running Into You [4]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Awkwardness, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 11:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7100620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INeverHadMyInternetPhase/pseuds/INeverHadMyInternetPhase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Number 4 in my series in which Fangirl!Dan meets his favourite youtuber AmazingPhil in a variety of different an unlikely ways. In this one, Dan has graduated from uni and is trying to break into his own apartment building, having lost his keys, when AmazingPhil happens across him. Awkwardness ensues,</p>
            </blockquote>





	4. Locked Out

**Author's Note:**

> This one is a little awkward, and I'm not sure about the pacing, but I'm sick and I wanted to post something so here you go ^_^

Dan was almost certain he had the right apartment building. Peering through narrowed eyes, trying to focus his vision through his growing headache, he vaguely recognised the lobby with the broken lift and slightly-rotten stairwell leading up to the fifth floor, where he lived.

So why couldn’t Dan get through the front door?

He narrowed his eyes, swiping again at the door, but it refused to open. Dan was still trapped out in the cold, quiet street in the outskirts of the city, with just the odd passer-by and a few droplets of rain still falling from the grey cloud-filled sky. He tried several times, then stopped to examine the card in his hand, and - oh.

He was using his student ID card. Not his apartment building card.

Well.

Ok then. Dan furrowed his brow, thinking past the haze of alcohol still swimming through his skull in order to reach into his pocket and slowly extract his wallet. He opened it up, sliding his Student ID card - he graduated from uni six months ago, why did he even still have that thing - back into his wallet. He proceeded to hunt through every pocket of his wallet for his  _ actual  _ key card, but there was a slight problem.

It didn’t seem to be there.

Well. Shit.

Dan double-checked. And triple-checked. He even opened out his wallet and turned it upside down, watching the collection of tatty cards and damp notes spill out onto the cracked paving tiles. All his belongings, but not his key card. He must have dropped it somewhere back in the club.

Dan groaned. He bent down, struggling to scoop up all his belongings again, and turned back to face the now-impenetrable apartment building. His flat window was blinking at him from the fifth floor, the moon reflecting in its closed blinds.

What on earth was he supposed to do? He didn’t know any of his neighbours well enough to have their phone number, he’d only moved into this place a month ago. His first great adventure, his first proper step into adult life, moving in on his own and staying in a new city far away from his parents. Dan had been as surprised as anyone when he managed to actually survive his degree, and then somehow secured a job at a law firm. He only made coffee and photocopies at the moment, but that suited Dan well enough, and he earned enough to finally move into his own place. All in all, life was going well.

Except for nights when his colleagues invited him out, and he couldn’t exactly say no, could he? But mostly he found their company unbearable, so he drank a lot more than he usually would, which led to some fuzzy memories that he really wasn’t sure actually occurred, and now he was standing here in the middle of the night on the freezing street without his key card.

Wonderful.

Dan studied the door, pursing his lips. He  _ could  _ try and act like a normal person and ring the bell of one of his neighbours’ flats - most of them seemed young and lost, like him - but it was really very late by now, and Dan didn’t want to get shouted at. The very thought of their judgemental looks sent a shudder rippling down his spine. No, there had to be a better way. Or at least a way that didn’t involve human interaction.

Dan surveyed the building, considering. There was a window beside the door - it led to the foyer, if his slightly blurred mental image of the place was correct - and it had been left open just a tiny amount. A small amount of light was spilling out onto the street from between its ragged blinds. Dan tilted his head. The gap was small, but he was skinny - he should be able to fit.

And that was how Dan Howell found himself trying to squeeze through a tiny window in the middle of the city late on a Saturday night.

He dropped his bag through first, listening to the satisfying  _ thump  _ it made when it hit the ground on the other side of the window. At least some of his possessions were now reunited with the building he lived in. He stared at the tiny gap for a moment longer, debating whether or not he really could fit his long body into such a tiny smidgen of space. Not that he had much choice now. His bag was already there. Hopefully no one was working on reception this late at night, so he wouldn’t have to explain himself on the other side.

Taking in a final, deep breath, Dan bent down and slotted his head through the window.

He was attempting to scramble through, his back scraping against the top of the frame and his knees knocking against the brick of the outside wall, when a man cleared his throat from somewhere behind Dan. “Um. Excuse me?” The voice sounded timid. “Are you ok?”

Dan jerked, then let out a stream of curses when his back scraped hard against the window frame. His eyes smarted. It felt like he’d ripped a good inch of skin off with that sudden movement.

“Oh, um, I guess you’re not ok then.” The voice didn’t sound as sorry as Dan thought it should.

“I’ll say,” Dan muttered in response, then attempted to shift himself backwards so he could stand up. His back burned with every movement. He winced, pausing halfway through the window, torn between irritation and mortification. He was stuck. He couldn’t get through the window, not now his back was burning, but he couldn’t stand back up again without irritating his back further.

“Um.” The voice piped up again. “Do you want a hand?”

“No, no,” Dan answered automatically, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You look a bit - stuck.”

“I am a bit stuck.”

“So do you want any help with getting un-stuck?”

“Um.” Dan weighed up his options in his mind. He was starting to get a little dizzy. “Um, actually, yeah - could you…”

“Sure.” The voice was accompanied by approaching footsteps, and Dan braced himself against the window. His face felt a bit hot at the thought of having to face this stranger when he’d been caught half-in and half-out of a window. The problem only got worse when he felt warm hands grip his hips, holding him steady. “You know, if you’re a burglar,” the man added conversationally, his voice much closer to Dan’s ear, “I hope you know that I don’t condone your activities. I just can’t leave anyone stuck like you are right now.”

Dan spluttered. “I’m not a burglar!”

“Well, I hope not.” The man gently started to ease him backwards, pausing when Dan made a yowling sound like a cat being dragged through a waterfall. “Sorry. Are you hurt?”

“No, I just  _ love  _ being in this situation,” Dan hissed. “It’s my absolute  _ favourite  _ thing.”

“Hey, hey, no need for sarcasm.” This man was really starting to get on Dan’s nerves. “I just don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then watch my back.”

“Your back?” Fingers ghosted along the bottom of Dan’s back, and he winced, yowling again. The hands hastily disappeared, the voice continuing, “Sorry! Ok. I’ll try to avoid your back. Can you, like, lean your weight towards me a bit?”

Gritting his teeth, Dan did as he was asked. He felt the man’s arms wrap around his waist, getting more of a firm grip, and then he tugged.

Dan howled.

“Sorry!” The man huffed, tugging again. “This is the only way to get you out.”

“It fucking hurts!”

“Well, that isn’t my fault.” The man’s tone held a hint of laughter. Dan hated him. “And it isn’t the neighbour's’ fault, either, so maybe try to tone down the screaming?”

“Your mum should try to tone down the screaming,” Dan muttered, howling again when his back scraped.

He could have sworn he heard a chuckle from behind him.

Luckily, the man was strong, and it only took a couple more tugs before Dan went sprawling backwards, knocking them both down to the ground. He heard a strained  _ “Oof!”  _ come from the man behind him.

Dan laid on his back for several seconds, panting. At least the pavement was cool against the smarting scrapes along his back.

“Well.” The man spoke into the silence. “If you  _ are _ a burglar, safe to say you didn’t do a very good job.”

“I’m not a burglar.” Dan didn’t even bother opening his eyes.

“Well, I mean, I can’t think of any  _ other  _ reason you’d be crawling through a window --”

“Got locked out.”

“-- Oh. Wait, you  _ live  _ here?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you just ask a neighbour to let you in?”

“Clearly I should have.” Dan finally forced himself to sit up, turning to look at his unlikely saviour.

The man was crouching just behind him, an uncertain smile at his lips. His hair was black, styled almost the exact same way as Dan’s, and he was in jeans and a plaid shirt under his red jacket. His eyes were round and large, the most arresting feature on his face.

...Wait.

Dan stared at him again, his eyes widening in growing horror.  _ No.  _ No, this was impossible. Surely this was impossible.

The man tilted his head. “Are you ok?”

Even that voice was familiar. Dan should have realised before.

“Um. Hello?” The man waved a hand in front of Dan’s face. “You don’t have concussion, do you?”

Dan simply stared at him, then flopped over onto his back, saying calmly, “This cannot be happening.”

“Excuse me?”

“This is not happening right now.”

“What isn’t happening right now?” The man sounded confused.

Dan shot him a look without getting up. “You’re AmazingPhil,” he answered simply.

The man looked startled. “How do you know that?”

“I recognise you.”

“Oh.” The man -  _ AmazingPhil  _ \- looked a little surprised. “Well. I mean, yes, that’s me.”

Dan just nodded, looking away to stare firmly up at the sky.

“How’d you - um - do you watch my videos?”

“Yep.”

“...You’re telling me that one of my subscribers is a burglar?”

“Oh, God, I am  _ not _ …!” Dan stopped himself with a firm shake of his head, refusing to look at AmazingPhil. “No, you know what? I’m not doing this. This isn’t happening. I am not meeting my favourite person in the entire world like this.”

AmazingPhil gave a startled laugh. “Your favourite person?”

“Yeah. That would be you. AmazingPhil. Who I am  _ not _ meeting on the night I was trying to break into my own apartment building.”

AmazingPhil laughed again, but Dan was still stubbornly staring at the sky. It was really quite beautiful tonight - the clouds were clearing slightly, allowing a few stars to wink through the hazy glow caused by the city streetlights.

There was a shuffling from beside him. Dan still refused to look.

Sadly, the silence only lasted a few minutes before AmazingPhil started to speak again. “You know, if you really do live here, I can help you get inside.”

Dan allowed himself to send AmazingPhil a slightly interested glance. His inner fangirl was wriggling at the sight of AmazingPhil looking straight back at him, but he ordered it to quieten down because  _ this could not be happening. _

“I’m not just here to help awkward subscribers out of windows,” AmazingPhil grinned at him. “I’m visiting my brother. He lives here too.”

Dan perked up a little at this news.

“But,” AmazingPhil added, “You’ll have to tell me your name, and which number is yours. So  I can check with my brother that you’re not actually a burglar.”

“Oh, God.” Dan finally sat up, burying his face in his hands. “I swear I’m not. I can’t believe  _ AmazingPhil  _ thinks I’m a burglar, this is literally the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”

AmazingPhil gave a chuckle. “I promise to believe you if you tell me your name and apartment number.”

“Really?”

“Well, that way my brother can check you’re a real person.”

Dan grimaced, but complied quickly. “Dan. My name’s Dan. And I live in number 53, but please, please,  _ don’t  _ remember me as the weirdo you had to rescue from a window.”

“I mean, I make no promises.” But Phil winked at him before pulling out his phone.

Dan watched as AmazingPhil typed out a text to his brother, his brain still struggling to process the situation. He was actually sitting next to AmazingPhil. Actual AmazingPhil. The same AmazingPhil that Dan spent the better part of every evening glued to, watching his videos time and time again.

And AmazingPhil had  _ touched  _ him. And now knew where he lived.

AmazingPhil’s phone buzzed, and he read the text with a chuckle. “My brother says the guy living in number 53 is a tall recluse who dodges people at every chance he gets.”

Dan winced. “Guilty. But don’t judge me. I’m very socially awkward.”

“I’d guessed as much.”

“I blame your influence entirely.”

“Well, that’s a little rude.” Phil gave a sniff.

“What can I say, watching your videos makes me feel better about hiding in my room at every opportunity.”

Phil laughed. “Honestly, I think I should be flattered. And thankful.”

“Thankful?”

“Yeah, I found someone who’s actually more awkward than I am.”

Dan winced again. “Oh, thanks. That really makes me feel better about this whole thing.”

“Would it help if I helped you up and got you up to your flat safely?”

Dan surveyed Phil - actual, real life AmazingPhil who was offering to help him - and suppressed a squeal. Instead, he managed to grin. “Yeah. I mean. That’d probably be ok.”

Phil jumped up to his feet with a matching grin, holding out a hand. Dan took the hand slowly, getting up to his feet with a wince at the pull on his still-smarting back. Phil stood a little closer to him than was strictly necessary, and wound an arm around Dan’s lower back when he winced again. It wasn’t exactly necessary, but Dan leaned his weight into Phil’s side anyway, relishing this opportunity to be close to him.

Turned out AmazingPhil smelled like raspberries. Dan filed that information away for future reference.

They made it to the door, where Phil’s brother buzzed them in, and Dan made Phil pause momentarily so he could retrieve his bag from the reception window.

“You know, I think bits of you are still trapped on the frame,” Phil hummed thoughtfully.

“Thanks. Help me to the lift?”

“Sure.”

And then Phil’s arm was back around Dan’s waist, and they made their slow way across the foyer. Phil insisted on going up with Dan, and Dan wasn’t exactly complaining when Phil kept his promise of walking Dan all the way up to his front door.

Dan fetched his spare keys from under a turned-up bit of carpet, opening the door with a wince.

Phil hovered by his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re going to be ok? Have you got painkillers and stuff?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dan did, somewhere. “I’ll be fine. I don’t want to take up any more of your evening.”

Phil waved him away. “If anything, you’ve made my evening more exciting.”

Dan couldn’t hold back his grin at that.

Phil matched his expression, lingering in the doorway. “Anyway. Um. My brother lives in 36.”

“Only a couple of floors down, then.” Dan shook his head. “Weird coincidence. I never thought I’d actually meet you.”

Phil chuckled. “Well, I never thought I’d have to un-stick someone from a window, so we’re equal there.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Dan grimaced. “I promise I don’t usually break into buildings.”

“I feel like I need to get to know you a little better before I can judge that.”

Dan couldn’t hold back a surprised smile. His entire chest warmed at that thought.  _ Getting to know AmazingPhil.  _ Yeah. That was something he could get behind.

“I visit my brother a lot, you know,” Phil added conversationally. “It’d be quite easy to hop on up here and come say hi. I mean. If you wouldn’t mind.”

“ _ Mind _ ?” Dan let out a thrilled little hum. “That would be  _ amazing.  _ Pun absolutely intended.”

Phil groaned. “Not you too.”

“Hear that one a lot?”

“Yeah. But not usually from cute guys, so I can forgive you.”

Dan glowed.

“Anyway,” Phil glanced around, nibbling on his lower lip. “I should really go see my brother --”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” Dan edged a little further inside his flat. “And I should. Um. Painkillers, and that.”

“Yeah.” Phil nodded and smiled at him, turning away hesitantly.

Dan watched him get five steps down the corridor before calling, “Phil?”

Phil turned back instantly. “Yeah, Dan?”

“Can I - um - can I get a hug?”

Dan’s tone was a little shaky, but he relaxed when Phil’s entire face brightened. He took long strides back to Dan, opening up his arms. “Of course. C’mere.”

Dan covered the remaining distance, and then he was in AmazingPhil’s arms. He closed his eyes and pressed his face into Phil’s shoulder, thankful that Phil was tall enough for this not to be awkward. Phil’s arms tightened around him, and Dan allowed himself to close his eyes.

The stayed wrapped in a close hug for a long, long moment, before Dan reluctantly stepped back.

Phil released him slowly, longingly. He met Dan’s eyes with a small smile. “I’ll come see you again. After visiting my brother.”

“I’d like that.” Dan leaned against his doorframe, watching Phil’s walk down the corridor.. Dan sighed, murmuring to himself, “I’d like that a lot.”

Phil gave a final jaunty wave before he disappeared around the corner, and Dan closed the door behind him with a warm smile decorating his face.   
It wouldn’t be the last time they met. Dan was sure of it.


End file.
